Baby Steps
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day two hundred and eighty-nine: Now with Beth coming home, Shelby has work to do.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 13th cycle. Now cycle 14!_

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**"Baby Steps"  
Shelby & Beth  
Sequel to "Solid Ground" **

It would be a couple of days before all the paper work went through and she was able to bring the baby home. To her it meant a couple of days to turn her apartment from singles land to a home for her soon-to-be daughter. She'd promised Quinn Fabray she would take good care of her baby, and she wouldn't be able to do that if her apartment didn't pass the test and they said no somehow.

She had come home and immediately it had seemed an impossible task. If there was one thing she'd learned from coaching an award-winning show choir, it was managing a situation that could be a hectic mess to most people.

The second bedroom in her apartment had first been an office for her. But eventually she'd abandoned it, and it just became a place where things were… stocked, abandoned… she hadn't realized how crowded it was in there until she had to start clearing it out to make room for the nursery. She worked all through the night, sorting and piling. By sunrise, she had to crash for a nap, even if it was just a few hours. One run, shower, and coffee later, it was on to phase two.

She went out and got paint, wallpaper… Just being out there, choosing colors and patterns… It made her heart race with those hopes she'd given up on believing in. She had the design of those walls in her head for longer than she'd know.

Within a few hours, the room had gone from sterile gray to white, pink, yellow… lambs all in a row. While the whole room busied itself to dry, she cleaned the rest of the apartment, clearing out what had to be cleared out, moving things. She was exhausted, but she kept on going. After the next phase, she could sleep for hours on end.

The people at the store must have loved her. She needed one, then two, then three carts, for the furniture, decorations, toys, clothes, everything that she'd need… The sales people who had come along to help her were simply angels, making sure she didn't lose it. She was assured the delivery men would be on hand to assemble the furniture.

Everything now delivered, she stood back and watched as the furniture, and thus the nursery, began to take shape. Her one priority, beyond making sure that all was assembled properly, was to safeguard her walls from scratches and scrapes. Luckily, not one little lamb was injured, and she was now able to carry on decorating.

The day had just gone away on her, and as she'd finished, she couldn't even take the time to appreciate the completion of her work, she just had to sleep.

When she awoke again, still sore, she'd almost forgotten that she'd finished. She'd dragged her feet to the coffee machine, and as she looked up, she saw the door to the nursery, the small name sign she'd hung on to it. She walked on over to it, pushed it open…

Seeing it now, it was… heaven… and it was part of her life now…. She'd waited, made sacrifices, and it never was going to happen as far as she'd known… it might not have, if not for all she'd done that year…

The rest of the day consisted of visits from the baby proofing service, and the inspection… She had pretty good nerves, but even she had her moments. It took her getting through it with positive feedback to feel the weight release from her shoulders. This was it… in the morning, she'd have her baby.

She'd double checked, triple checked, until there was nothing left to do and she had to get to sleep… sleep would be precious but uncertain after this night.

Finally she was at the hospital, energized despite the work she'd had to put in over the last couple of days, because then… there she was, carried on over and into her arms.

She hadn't known, if she'd feel it right away, if the girl was hers… or if she would feel no connection at all… But they'd put her there, and they'd mentioned a name… She'd looked into those eyes, and she'd told them… Her name was Beth. She was her daughter.

At last they'd arrived home, just in time, as Beth cried in what Shelby soon saw to be hunger. She just went on talking to her as she got a bottle ready. She wanted her to continue hearing her voice, so she'd know she was still near her, with her.

"Here it is then," she picked up the baby, cradling her in her arms before offering the bottle. As she relaxed, so did Shelby. She carried the newborn on over to the nursery, which just seemed to shine with a new glow now that Beth was in it.

With 'lunch' done and the baby yawning with the growing fatigue, Shelby laid her down in her crib. She looked down at her, holding on to her tiny hand still.

"We're going to figure all this out together, right? You and me, Corcoran and Corcoran," she smirked, seeing how she still looked at her. "There's a lot of people out here and there who really love you, who want you to have a great life… and that's how you got here, with me." Beth gave a yawn, sleep coming on. "Welcome home," she watched her drift off, kept on watching, feeling herself well up. Her daughter was home… Maybe things hadn't turned out how she thought they would, with her and…

But now she had a new chance, and soon Beth Corcoran would wake up to her mobile of twinkling stars…

THE END

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**_[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]_**


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